In recent years, China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has achieved economic development, social harmony and stability, and continuous improvement in people's livelihoods, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin noted at a regular press conference on Thursday.

Xinjiang's gross domestic product (GDP) grew from 1,116 billion yuan ($162 billion) to 1,598 billion yuan ($248 billion) between 2017 and 2021. Even amid the COVID-19 epidemic, Xinjiang's GDP grew by 3.4 percent in 2020 and 7.0 percent in 2021. The agricultural and manufacturing industries remained the pillar industry of the industrial value added in Xinjiang, and the service sector (tertiary industry) rose steadily, reaching 14.7 percent in 2021.

The per capita disposable income of urban residents in Xinjiang increased from 30,775 yuan ($4,467) in 2017 to 37,642 yuan ($5,834) in 2021, and the per capita disposable income of rural residents rose from 11,045 yuan ($1,603) to 15,575 yuan ($2,414) in the same period.

The consumer price index (CPI) for 2020 increased by 1.5 percent year on year and the commodity retail price index increased by 0.6 percent year on year. In the past five years, Xinjiang's price indices have been steady. 

From a categorical point of view, the largest share of the per capita consumption was made up of food and beverages at 30.3 percent, followed by housing at 19.0 percent and transportation at 14.3 percent.

The registered urban unemployment rate has been stable during the past decade, though there have been slight fluctuations. Even amidst the COVID-19 epidemic, Xinjiang's registered urban unemployment rate has stayed below 3.5 percent.

Regarding human rights in Xinjiang, Wang said no one has a better say than the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

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Graphics: Facts about Xinjiang's population and ethnic groups